It’s no secret that Torrey Smith is a very talented player. Many fans (including myself) hope that his 841 yard rookie season is a sign of things to come. Hopefully, Smith can become Flacco’s number one target for years to come. Smith has the ability to do just that but he has history working against him.

After drafting two Hall of Fame players with their first two picks in 1996, one would think the Ravens would have success drafting players at every position. But, that has not been the case when it comes to the wide receiver position. Therefore, players like Derrick Mason and Anquan Boldin are brought in to be the number one receiver the Ravens have lacked.

The Ravens have drafted 18 wide receivers in their short history. Patrick Johnson, Travis Taylor, Ron Johnson, Devard Darling, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams, Yamon Figures, Marcus Smith, Torrey Smith, and Tandon Doss have are all players that have been drafted in the first four rounds by the Ravens. Many of these names are recognizable because of their performances in training camp but none have had a major long term impact on the team.

None of these players have spent more than five years with the team and all of them have been busts with the exception of Torrey Smith and Tandon Doss who were both drafted in 2011 so its unfair to judge them so quickly.

Only five wide receivers the Ravens have drafted have started 14 or more games in their Ravens career with Travis Taylor starting the most games at 61. I think a big reason for this is because the Ravens have always been successful and have never had an opportunity to draft a player like Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, or Andre Johnson.

I am not discounting Torrey Smith’s potential but we need to remember that he is young and could still not work out for the team long term.